


Superman

by DisposableVillain



Category: The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Argo II (Percy Jackson), Bisexual Male Character, Bisexuality, Canon Compliant, F/M, Gay, LGBTQ Character, LGBTQ Themes, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-21
Updated: 2015-04-20
Packaged: 2019-11-01 22:22:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 8,258
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17875937
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DisposableVillain/pseuds/DisposableVillain
Summary: Everything about Jason Grace was just so fucking perfect. His golden hair that never seemed to be out of place, his flawless healthily-tanned skin, his electric blue eyes, his muscular body, his life at Roman and Greek camps as a son of Jupiter. Even the scar on his lip was perfect.While Nico Di Angelo was just...not.His black hair was in desperate need of a cut, and his skin was still pale from the damn jar that he had been imprisoned in. His physique was scrawny from self-deprivation of food and the only article of clothing he wore that wasn't black was his brown aviator jacket. As a son of Hades, he wasn't exactly welcomed at either the Greek or Roman camp. With his stygian iron sword and skull ring, he radiated fear and his dark brown eyes - which were probably his only defining feature - were encircled by even darker bags from lack of sleep due to nightmares about...Tartarus.Nico was broken. Jason might just be the one thing that is able to fix him.* 3rd Place from PJO Watty Awards 2018 LGBT+ Characters





	1. Perfect

**Author's Note:**

> Heyo, for those of you who don't know me, I'm Elliot. This is an old fic from 2015ish set on the Argo II just after House of Hades. Hope you like it.

_I love him...I hate him...I love Percy...I still love Percy... But he broke my heart..._ Nico Di Angelo scowled and leaned against the railing of the Argo II.

His long, black hair hung in his dark brown eyes and he irritably blew his bangs out of the way.

They immediately fell back into place and he growled. Ever since meeting Eros in Rome with Jason Grace, he had been more antisocial and temperamental than usual. Every time he had looked at the blonde airhead, he had seen him watching him with pity in his eyes.

Pity.

Nico almost spat. He hated being _pitied._ Especially by Jason Grace.

He couldn't stand the older son of Jupiter - or was he younger, considering Nico was from the nineteen thirties?

Everything about him was just _so fucking perfect._ His golden hair that never seemed to be out of place, his flawless healthily-tanned skin, his electric blue eyes, his muscular body, his life at Roman and Greek camps as a son of Jupiter. Even the scar on his lip was perfect.

While Nico was just...not.

His black hair was in _desperate_ need of a cut, and his skin was still pale from the damn jar that he had been imprisoned in. His physique was scrawny from self-deprivation of food and the only article of clothing he wore that wasn't black was his brown aviator jacket. As a son of Hades, he wasn't exactly welcomed at either the Greek or Roman camp. With his stygian iron sword and skull ring, he radiated fear and his dark brown eyes - which were probably his only defining feature - were encircled by even darker bags from lack of sleep due to nightmares about...Tartarus.

He couldn't even close his eyes without picturing the red-skied hellhole, the burning fire of the river Plegethon going down his throat, the sulphuric air, monsters being reborn everywhere...

He shuddered and drew his aviator jacket closer around him. Nico Di Angelo was broken and Jason Grace was perfect.

"Hey, Nico."

"Jason." Nico didn't even have to look to know who it was. Jason was the only one who talked to him other than his sister since Percy and Annabeth had returned from Tartarus.

He heard footsteps near him and looked up to see the older boy lean against the railing next to him, his muscles obvious through his Camp Half-Blood t-shirt.

"So how are you?" Jason asked after a moment.

Nico narrowed his eyes and glared down at whatever was beneath the dark clouds below him. "Cut the crap and just tell me what you want, Grace."

Jason stared at him in shock for a moment. "What?"

"Anyone who talks to me always has something that they want to get out of it." Nico's glare intensified and some mortals shivered below, unknowing that they were under the glare of the son of Hades. 

Jason continued to stare at him in silence for a moment before chuckling and looking up at the stars. "You know, not everyone wants to get something out of you. Some people just want to help." Nico looked up at him in surprise. The blonde boy smiled slightly and pointed up. "See that constellation? That's Ursa Major, the big bear. And over there beside it is Ursa Minor, the little bear."

Nico glanced up at the sky. "How do you know all of this stuff?" Not giving Jason a chance to answer, he smirked. "Nevermind; I forgot. You're Mr. Perfect. You know all."

Jason glanced at him, concealling the hurt in his eyes from the comment. "I never said that I did. I just-" He cut himself off and looked down, blushing slightly. "Nevermind; it's stupid."

"Jason Grace doing something stupid? This I have to hear." Nico smirked again.

Jason sighed. "When I was a little kid, I wanted to be an astronaut so I studied constellations a bit. When I was with Lupa, I slept under the stars a lot and since my first night there, I've never seen as many stars... and believe me, I've looked." He cracked a small smile. "It was when I didn't know the difference between stars and plannets, so I always thought of how many worlds - galaxies even - there must have been to have so many stars." He chuckled. "It always made me feel kind of small and insignificant, you know?"

Nico opened his mouth, ready to respond with 'why would I care?' or 'you're right, that is stupid'. But instead he found himself saying, "Yeah... I know the feeling."

It surprised him and he could tell that it surprised Jason, although he hid it well. Jason smiled at him and stood up. "Come on; it's late and you look like you need some sleep."

Nico snorted. "I'll be fine. You go and get your beauty sleep, Cinderella." Jason blinked slowly. "It was a joke, Grace."

"I know..." A small smile crept onto his face. "I just didn't think you were capable of telling jokes."

Nico scowled. "Whatever... go and sleep already..."

Jason laughed slightly and Nico felt his skin tingle slightly. If his eyes were the most defining thing about him, Jason's laugh was the most defining thing about him.

It was deep without sounding forcedly so, and seemed to roll off of him in waves. It was infectious - Nico was struggling not to chuckle softly by that stage - and it came easily; the blonde was used to laughing.

"Goodnight, Nico," Jason said once his laughter had died down. He turned to leave, throwing Nico one last smile.

Nico watched him leave, feeling a small tug in his gut.

Because he couldn't hate Jason Grace. It was impossible.

He  _loved_ him.


	2. Imperfect

Nico Di Angelo was broken and Jason knew it. He could tell from the way that the son of Hades would tense up whenever anyone entered the room or how his eyes would widen ever so slightly in fear if someone other than Hazel made physical contact with him.

He could tell by the way his eyes were always red and puffy in the mornings, which he claimed to be because of 'lack of sleep', and by the way he would tremble slightly and avoid eye contact when people talked to him.

He could tell by the way he clammed up if there was more than two people in the room, and if those two people were anyone other than Hazel and Jason, and by the way he irritably blew his bangs out of his eyes rather than brushing them out of the way with his hand like he had used to.

He also knew that no one else seemed to notice that Nico was broken. Annabeth and Percy were still traumatised from Tartarus and almost dying at the Doors of Death while Leo was busy repairing and upgrading the ship, and thinking about something or other. Jason suspected that it had something to do with whatever had happened when Khione had seperated him from the others. Piper tried to avoid the son of Hades, because... well, he kind of scared her. Hazel was busy trying to practice using the Mist with Frank's help, and Frank was helping Hazel as well as being overawed by his praetorship. 

Jason seemed to be the only one who realised how much Nico was hurting inside.

Which was why he didn't fall asleep when Nico told him to. Instead, he lay awake, waiting for Nico to retire to bed as well. After about an hour when Jason's eyes were being dragged closed by exhaustion, he heard someone walk into the room beside his and he smiled contentedly, knowing that Nico slept there.

However, even with the knowledge that Nico was safely in his room, Jason couldn't sleep. The Ghost King just kept coming back to his mind, whenever he tried to think of something else.

If he thought of pasta, his mind would link it to Italy, which was where Nico was from.

If he thought of a game, his mind would link it to Mythomagic, which was still Nico's favourite game - as much as he tried to deny it.

If he thought of cats, his mind would link them to kittens and how Nico would sometimes look like an angry kitten when he glared.

Jason groaned and turned onto his stomach, burrying his head in his pillow.

Everything about Nico was filling his mind, and it confused him. Even when he kissed Piper, he would find himself thinking of Nico and subconsciously wishing that it was him he was kissing rather than his own girlfriend.

Jason sighed and turned onto his back again, almost falling off the bed in the process of doing so. Before he could contemplate any more on the matter, he heard a muffled scream from the other room.

The noise made him jump, topple off the bed and land on the wooden floor with a groan. After recovering, he stood up and ran into Nico's room to find him curled up in the fetal position, a haunted look in his eyes as silent tears slid down his cheeks.

He looked up and glared at Jason, but the tears and terrified expression on his face took away from the fear it was supposed to insinuate. "W-what do you want, G-Grace?"

"Nothing, I-" Jason blinked. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay. I heard someone scream."

"Must h-have been your imagination..." Nico mumbled, looking down at his knees. "I-I'm fine..."

Even if he hadn't heard the pained fear in Nico's voice, Jason would have known he was lying. Normally, Nico would yell at him for coming into his room, especially without knocking. He also would have made some kind of Superman comment by that stage, and he probably would have summoned a skeleton to shove Jason out of his room.

How he would have gone about doing the final step considering how far they were from the ground, Jason didn't know. But he had a feeling that the Ghost King would have found a way.

Jason took one more look at Nico before closing the door, walking over to the bed and sitting down beside Nico, wrapping his arms around him.

Nico immediately tensed. "What're you-"

"You don't need to hide the fact that you're scared," Jason murmured softly. "I can tell." Tears welled up in Nico's eyes and for the first time, Jason saw him as he probably saw himself; weak, vulnerable and lonely. Imperfect. "Cry; you deserve to after all you've been through."

Nico did cry. Several times. By the end of it, Jason's shirt was completely soaked, but he didn't care.

Eventually, Nico fell into an uneasy sleep, still wrapped in Jason's arms, his head resting on the blonde's chest.

Jason felt a soft blush rise to his cheeks. Nico looked pretty cute when he was sleeping, no scowl on his face. He looked peaceful.

Then realisation shook Jason like Mrs. O'Leary shook the sheilds she used as firsbees.  _I'm in love with Nico Di Angelo..._


	3. Illusions

The red sky above Nico made him feel sick as he looked up for what seemed like the hundreth time that minute to avoid looking at the River Lethe's taunting water.  _Maybe just a sip..._ He immediately shook the thought out of his head, steadying his breathing so that he was taking in as little of the sulphuric air as possible.

One sip would be all it would take and then he'd completely forget everything. Bianca, Hazel... Percy...

He clenched his fists, feeling rage build up in his veins. "Damn it!" He shrieked, kicking a piece of debris away from him. "Why can't I just get a break?!"

After a moment, he forced his muscles to relax and he raked the landscape with his dark eyes. He knew that he wouldn't sleep; too many things had already happened for him to be able to even close his eyes without envisioning nightmares. But if he found a cave, maybe he could take a small break.

For once, the gods seemed to be with him for he found a small hollow in a wall a few metres ahead of him. Sure it wasn't the best, but it was better than being out in the open.

Nico sat down, leaning his back against the wall, his arms folded as he ran through his quest in his mind once more. "I have to close the Doors of Death..." He murmured. "Percy's counting on me... They're all counting on me..."

"That's right; they are," a voice crooned, causing Nico's head to shoot up. "How disappointed they'll be when they find out that you let them down."

Nico immediately leapt into a standing position, his Stygian iron sword already in hand. "Where are you? Show yourself!" He demanded roughly.

"I'm right here..." A voice whispered behind him.

Without looking to see what it was, Nico whipped around and sliced cleanly through the monster only for his eyes to widen in horror when he saw what it was. An  _arai._ A fucking  _arai._

He screamed in pain as he felt a searing pain in his side. The sensation was burning, but at the same time it was freezing. 

A second  _arai_ cackled as he fell to his knees, clutching his side in pain, blood seeping through his aviator jacket. "Oh, the fate of one of the  _katoblepones_ you killed in Venice. How very fitting." He felt someone grab him, but he could do nothing other than try not to yelp in pain. "It will be so much easier to take you this way."

Dark spots began to cloud his vision and he went limp.

**-DDLDHoW-**

When he awoke, Nico found that he was in a round, golden room with an extremely high roof. He frowned and tried to stand only to colapse again, wincing in pain as he clutched his still injured side. His shirt was dry, meaning that the bleeding had stopped a while ago - something Nico was grateful for.

However this presented him with another problem.

His shirt was stuck to the healing injury. Nico closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. "Okay, I've been through worse. I can do this..."  He took one more deep breath before taking his shirt and yanking it away from the injury.

It was all he could do not to pass out again and he whimpered in pain as blood seeped out of the injury once more.

"Hey, be quiet in there!" He heard a loud voice yell and suddenly, the room that he was in shook violently. He flailed around for a moment until the shaking stopped and he edged over to the edge of the room.

What he had mistaken for a golden wall was actually glass. He was in a giant glass jar. A rush of claustrophobia hit him and he closed his eyes, sitting down again. Judging by how large the jar was and how many pomengranite seeds he had in his pocket, he could probably survive for a week if he put his body into a comatose state.

But even still... 

"Percy..." He whispered. "I need you..."

**-DDLDHoW-**

Seven days. It had been seven days and by that stage there was hardly any oxygen left in the jar; Nico was fighting for every breath he took.

"Looks like your 'friends' didn't come," the giant that he had come to recognise as Otis taunted. "They obviously don't care about you."

 _I don't blame them..._ He glared up at the top of the jar, his eyes half closed as he began to fade out of consciousness once more.

"You're going to die, demi-god. You're going to die alone in there."

Nico shuddered slightly and closed his eyes. If he was going to die, he wasn't going to give the giant the satisfaction of knowing how scared he was. But he was petrified.

Clouds began to cover his vision as sweat poured down his face. He had run out of oxygen and he knew it. A moment later, he fell to his side, his eyes half-closed.

"P-Percy..." He whispered as his eyes slid closed, unaware that his black-haired, green eyed hero was replaced by a blonde-headed Superman just as he faded away.

**-DDLDHoW-**

Nico jolted awake with a scream only to realise that it had been a dream. Just a dream. And he had felt like he had been suffocating because he was; at some stage he had rolled onto his stomach and his face had been burried in his pillow.

He slowly sat up, tears silently falling down his cheeks as he pulled his legs to his chest.  _Why? Why can't I just have one night without reliving that?_

Hearing the door open, Nico looked up to find none other than Jason fucking Grace standing there. He glared at him, but he could tell that it wasn't exactly fear insinuating from the way Jason met his gaze without flinching. "W-what do you want, G-Grace?"

"Nothing, I-" Jason blinked slowly, seeming slightly confused by his own actions. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay. I heard someone scream."

"Must h-have been your imagination..." Nico mumbled, looking down at his knees. "I-I'm fine..."

 _Liar,_ Nico mentally yelled at himself.  _If you were fine, that airhead wouldn't still be here._

Nico was about to look up at Jason again only to tense as he felt a pair of warm, strong arms wrap around him. He glanced up to see Jason's face above his. "What're you-"

"You don't need to hide the fact that you're scared," Jason murmured softly. "I can tell."

Nico's walls had once been like darkness surrounding him. All hiding. All forgiving. All protecting. And yet Jason had been able to see right through them as though they were made of light. Nico felt tears well up in his eyes and was about to roughly brush them away when Jason said, "Cry; you deserve to after all you've been through."

Darkness is a very fickle thing. It can hide sins and weaknesses from friends and enemies alike... but if it allows a light to shine through its borders, the walls can never fully be repaired.

And right then, Jason was that light.

Nico completely broke down, letting everything from his anger at his father to his feeling of betrayal due to Percy and his confusion because of Jason spill onto the Camp Half-Blood t-shirt. 

He didn't even care that his walls were being torn down by hundreds of lightning bolts. He just needed to let everything out.

When he had no more tears left, he just stayed there in Jason's arms, his head resting on the latter's chest.

He opened his mouth to thank Jason, but no sound came out. Nico blamed the exhaustion weighing him down.

So he closed his eyes and, for the first time since he had returned from Tartarus, didn't feel afraid to do so. For the first time in months, he drifted into an undisturbed, dreamless sleep.

Because with Jason's arms around him, he felt safe.

Like nothing could ever hurt him again.


	4. Reality

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just to be clear, Jason is very bisexual. Little me just didn't know how to word that.

When Jason woke up the next morning, Nico was still asleep in his arms, his head on Jason's chest.

Jason smiled softly at the child of Hades. His hair was ruffled and there was a tiny, barely-noticeable smile on his face.

 _I guess he slept well,_ Jason thought, his smile broadening. He had been worried that Nico would wake again with another nightmare, but he obviously hadn't.

Either that or Jason had slept through it, something he really doubted he did. He was a  _very_ light sleeper.

A frown creased Jason's brow.  _I wonder what he was dreaming about before I came in..._ It must have been bad for Nico to scream. And cry.

Nico  _never_ cried. Or at least as far as Jason could tell.

He was too proud for it.

He hadn't cried when he was in the jar; his eyes hadn't been red and puffy when he came out. He hadn't cried when Eros had yanked him out of the closet in Rome. In fact, he seemed more worried about what Jason would do and how he'd react. 

Actually, he seemed more angry that it was Jason that had been there. Jason and not Percy.

Jason scowled. That Seaweed Brain had hurt Nico so much; broken his heart so many times.  And yet Nico still loved him.  _It just doesn't make sense!_ He glared at the quilt covering his lower body and part of his torso.  _Why would he love him if he knows it's only hurting him?_

He was so preocupied with his thoughts that he didn't hear the door open.

"Ahem."

Jason's head shot up and he ended up whacking it against the bed post. He groaned and rubbed the back of his head before looking at the door to see Piper standing there with her arms crossed. She. Looked. _Pissed_.

Jason frowned in confusion. _Why is she mad? I didn't do anything wrong._

Then he realised how this must have looked. He was in bed with someone. That someone wasn't his girlfriend. He, Jason Grace, was in bed with Nico.

Immediately, he shook his head frantically, trying to give Piper a look that said 'This isn't what it looks like'.

Piper just raised an eyebrow and walked out of the room. Jason hastily unwrapped his arms from around Nico and laid the younger boy on the bed before following Piper outside, closing the door behind him.

"What was that about?" Was the first thing she said. She didn't sound angry, or accusing. Just confused.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about," Jason replied a little too quickly. 

"Jason!" Piper gripped his shoulders and looked up into his eyes. "I saw you in there! You were sleeping with Nico; you were hugging him!"

"I heard him scream last night; I had to make sure he was okay!" Jason defended himself. 

Piper raised an eyebrow. "And that led to hugging... How?"

Jason shrugged, his cheeks tinted pink. "I...I just wanted to comfort him..."

Piper shook her head with a small smile. "Jason, you don't need to lie to me. I know."

This time it was Jason's turn to raise an eyebrow. "Uh... What do you know?"

"That you love Nico," Piper replied.

Jason's eyes widened in shock but before he could say anything, Piper held up a hand. "Just let me talk, Jason. I've seen the way you look at him. There's always love in your eyes; love that isn't in them when you look at me."

Jason shook his head, his face pale. "Th-that's because I love him like a brother," he managed to choke out. "That's why there's a different love when I look at you; you're not like my sister. He's like my brother and I love him for it... But I'm not... _in love_ with him!"

"Jason," Piper said, cutting him off. "I think it might be the other way around." Jason just stared at her, flabbergasted. "Jason, I... until you figure this out, I think we should just be friends." She met his gaze once more and he could clearly see the pain in her kaleidoscope-like eyes. It was taking a lot out of her to do this. She stood on her toes and kissed him on the cheek before turning and beginning to walk away. She glanced at him over her shoulder with a sad smile. "Goodbye, Jason. I hope you get him." And just like that, she was gone.

Jason could only watch silently, frozen in shock as Piper left the hallway. He slowly clenched and unclenched his fists as reality hit him.

Piper broke up with him. Because she thought he was gay. She thought he had a crush on Nico.

She broke up with him because of Nico Di Angelo.


	5. Running

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: Internalised homophobia, slur (f*g)

When Nico woke up, the first thing that he noticed was that he was cold. _Reall_ y cold.

He shivered slightly and pulled the quilt closer to him, his black tank top not doing much to protect him from the cold morning aboard the ship. Leo may have tried to think of everything that they would need, but he had forgotten one major thing; heating.

Nico _hated_ the cold. It always reminded him of bad times... He shuddered and tried to push the thoughts away. He wasn't usually this cold, even on mornings like this, when frost was creeping up on the ship's porthole windows and snow had covered the deck.

Then he remembered something. Jason.

He looked around his room, finding the son of Jupiter nowhere in sight.

Nico looked down at his blanket and stayed sitting in his bed for a moment before taking a deep breath and throwing off the blankets.

Immediately he regretted the action but he hastily pulled on a black t-shirt with skulls on it, back jeans and his aviator jacket.

He sighed in relief and ran his hand through his hair a few times - his version of combing. Then he clipped his Stygian iron sword to his belt and walked out of his bedroom, hands in his pockets.

He brought up his hand to hide the usual yawn that overcame him only to pause. The yawn wasn't coming.

And he couldn't feel his eyes being dragged down by tiredness either.

 _I actually slept last night when Jason came in,_ he realized. _I slept without nightmares... did he do something? Maybe he took something from the Hypnos cabin at camp before he left?_

Nico knew that this wasn't the case, but he preferred to think that it was rather than consider the other option.

He made his way to the dining hall, and when he walked in, found Percy, Piper, Hazel and Jason inside. Hazel smiled warmly at him, while Percy gave him a half-distracted wave. Piper kind of half-smiled while avoiding his gaze as always and Jason... wasn't even acknowledging his presence.

Nico frowned in confusion. Usually Jason would smile at him, or at least nod, if he was in a very heated debate with Percy.

But he never just outright ignored Nico.

Nico glanced over at Piper and realised something. They were on opposite sides of the table and weren't holding hands.

 _Did they break up?_ Nico thought, tilting his head in confusion. He immediately shook off the thought. _Nah; p_ _robably just a small arguement or something._

He grabbed a plate and half a pommengranite before sitting next to Jason. Immediately, the blonde son of Jupiter tensed and stood up, leaving his sentence and meal alike unfinished. "I need to go; back in a few minutes."

Nico watched in confusion as he quickly left the dining hall. Percy glanced over at him, also confused. "Do you know what that was about?"

Nico shook his head, still staring at the door. "No clue..."

After a few moments of just sitting in silence, he stood up and followed Jason out of the room before anyone could ask another question.

After a few minutes of wandering the ship, Nico found Jason leaning against the railing in the same place that they had been the previous night.

Nico walked over to him. "Hey." He leaned on his folded arms against the railing.

"Nico," Jason replied shortly. Awkward silence followed the greetings.

Nico sighed. "So what's wrong?"

"What makes you think something's wrong?" Jason asked, his tone sharp, his muscles tense and rigid.

"Well for one thing, you and Piper aren't looking at one another or holding hands under the table anymore," Nico pointed out. "Secondly, you just left the room in the middle of a debate with Percy."

"I just didn't feel like staying," Jason retorted shortly.

"Cut the crap and just tell me what's wrong, Grace," Nico sighed.

Jason turned to face him, a glare set on his usually-happy features. "You want to know what's wrong, Di Angelo?"

Nico flinched. His surname on Jason's tongue sounded foreign, harsh and unnatural.

 _Kind of like you,_ a voice in his head told him. He pushed the voice to the back of his mind. "Yes, I do."

Jason chuckled darkly. As opposed to his laugh last night, this one was forced, deep, humourless and not very infectious. "Piper just broke up with me." Nico didn't say anything, assuming that Jason had more to say. He was right. "She did it because she thinks that I didn't love her anymore." He glared at Nico. "Because she thinks I love you."

Nico felt his heart come to a sudden, jittery halt as he struggled to remember how to breath. "Wh-what? That's ridiculous..."

"That's what I said," Jason growled. "I don't see why she thinks I'd love you like that." He looked down over the edge. "You're just a gay freak from the forties."

Nico completely froze, his eyes wide. "What... did you just say?" He choked out, praying that he had somehow misheard Jason.

"I think you heard me the first time," Jason responded coolly. "You're a gay emo; a freak from the forties."

Nico didn't know what to do for a minute. The one person he had felt that he could connect with and trust besides his sister on the _Argo II_ had called him an emo and a freak. And he had used Nico's sexuality against him.

Nico had expected that from Percy, Annabeth, Piper, Leo, Frank and maybe even Hazel to some degree. But not Jason.

So Nico did what he did best of all.

He ran.


	6. Chasing

"You're a gay emo; a freak from the forties." Even as Jason said these words, he could hardly believe they were coming out of his mouth. His eyes widened and he turned to apologise. "Nico, I-"

Then he stopped. There was no way that he could take back those words. He couldn't apologise.

Because there's no use in apologising if no one is there to hear it.

"Shit," Jason cursed, running after Nico as he saw the fourteen year old dart around a corner of the ship. He quickly caught up to him, but just as he was about to grab Nico's wrist, the son of Hades shadow travelled.

Jason stopped dead, staring at the spot Nico had been in for a moment. Then he worked things out in his head. Nico wouldn't have left the   _Argo II_ if only for the reason that Hazel was there.

What were the few places that people rarely went? The stables, the crow's nest, Nico's room and... that was it. Jason decided to take his chances with the stables first.

When he went in, no one was there. The stall doors were all open and the room was too brightly lit to miss Nico in it.

Jason sighed and walked back upstairs. _He must be in his cabin then..._

As quickly as possible, Jason made his way to the son of Hades' cabin. He quietly pushed open the door to find it in the exact same state that he had left it in this morning; perfectly clean, except for the blanket - which had been messily thrown off the bed - and dark.

"Nico?" Jason glanced around. Nothing twitched, nothing moved. Jason frowned and opened the wardrobe. A few black t-shirts, black jeans, a pair of shoes... and nothing else.

That just left the crow's nest. Why Nico would go up there, Jason didn't know. It was in plain sight, there was probably a ladder to get up and he would be easily seen if anyone decided to look up there.

 _Which is why no one would,_ Jason realised, almost hitting himself. It was the last place most people would look for him.

Jason ran back out to the main deck and looked up at the crow's nest. Immediately, he spotted Nico's black mop of hair contrasting the light grey of the dreary morning sky.

He hesitated briefly. Should he even bother trying to apologise? After what he said to Nico, he wouldn't be surprised if the Italian boy didn't forgive him.

He would deserve it.

But then again... if he didn't apologise, he would still be in the wrong and his choice would hang over his head for a long time to come. He had blamed Nico for Piper breaking up with him, called him a freak and an emo and used his sexuality against him when Jason was the one person that Nico had told.

Not that he had told him willingly, but it had to count for something that he had told him more than he had to.

Jason hesitated for another second before flying up to the crow's nest and landing beside Nico in a sitting position on the railing. "Hey."

Nico's head shot up and he glared at Jason. For the first time in a while, Jason actually felt quite intimidated by the glare. "Leave me alone, Grace. You've already proven your point; I'm a gay, freakish emo, right?" He looked away again, his chin resting on his knees.

"Nico, that's not true," Jason began only to be cut off.

"If it's not true then why did you say it?" Nico stood up, his glare intensifying. Jason could tell by the twitch in his right hand that he was fighting the urge to draw his sword. "Why would you intentionally say something like that for absolutely no  _fucking_ reason if it's not true?!"

Jason took a deep breath and looked away. "You know the scar on my lip?" Nico blinked, looking completely and total confused. "How do you think I got it?"

Nico shook his head. "What does this have to do with-?"

"Just tell me how you think I got it."

Nico hesitated. "I don't know... some war game at Camp Jupiter?"

Jason smirked. "Not even close." Nico scowled and Jason could tell that he was seriously pushing the younger boy. "I tried to eat a stapler when I was a toddler. You know when we were in the House of Hades? When Frank said something about his rank, I thought he meant that he stank."

"What-?"

"Just let me talk," Jason cut him off. "Please." Nico slowly nodded, a guarded expression on his face. "I've done so many stupid things in my life that it's not even funny. I nearly killed Percy in Topeka. I procrastinated figuring out that I was bi, and I procrastinated telling people to the point that as of now, only you know. I agreed to go out with Reyna because people kept throwing traditions about praetors dating in my face. I joined the Fifth  Cohort just because people advised me not to rather than actually thinking the decision through first." He took a deep breath and looked down. "Do you know what the most stupid thing that I did in my life was though?"

Nico paused for a moment. "Trying to eat the stapler?" He guessed dryly.

Jason shook his head and met Nico's gaze. "Calling you things like I did for no reason when they weren't true."

And he meant it.


	7. Sarcasm

Nico stared at Jason for a few moments, speechless. Then he looked away. "Well that makes everything better, doesn't it?" He asked sarcastically. Jason blinked as Nico looked back up at him with a harsh glare. "You know what, Grace? Not everything can be fixed with one of your sappy, heartfelt apologies," he hissed, his fists clenched in order to hide his trembling fingers.

"What do you want me to do? I can't turn back time!" Jason pointed out.

"Yeah, well I wouldn't want you to, even if you could," Nico snarled. "I prefer actually knowing what people really think of me!" He remembered what had happened at Camp Half-Blood after the Titan war.

At first, everyone had been all smiles and happiness, thanking him and congratulating him on joining in. No one tried to avoid him, and no one seemed to be scared of him.

Then less than a week later, things went back to normal. People would skirt around him like he was a ticking timebomb and would jump when he walked up behind them, no matter how much noise he made, and give him a 'Really? You're  _still_ here?' look.

It had hurt, but mainly because he had thought for a short space of time that he actually had a chance at fitting in. He had let himself believe he might have somewhere to belong. He twisted his skull ring on his finger. It was the last thing Bianca had ever given him...

He had only ever belonged with Bianca.

He felt his hands ball into fists.

"Nico, that's not what I think of you!" Jason insisted. "I-"

" _Just shut up_!" Nico yelled, glaring at him fiercely. "Just shut the  _fuck_ up, Grace!"

Jason froze, his eyes wide. Nico could hear the resentment in his own voice, but it wasn't just because of Jason.

He could hear it; it was the same tone he spoke to Percy in. It was the tone that meant no matter how much he hated them, he would do anything for them.

Nico took a slow, deep breath and sat down, leaning against the railing of the crow's nest. "Now unless you have something worthwhile to say, get out of here," he grumbled. "I have important stuff to do."

"I know you don't have anything to do!" Jason protested.

Nico scowled. "I do, and it's important."

"What is it then?" Jason demanded, sounding frustrated.

Nico glared at him, his tone dripping with sarcasm. "Whatever you're not doing."


	8. Sincerity

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lmao I just remembered the two year age gap and now I'm uncomfortable, why was little me such a shit

Jason stared down at the angry fourteen year old, trying to hide that hurt that he knew was in his eyes. "Nico," he finally said. "I'm not leaving."

"Well I am!" Nico hissed.

"Then I'll follow you," Jason stated simply, folding his arms.

"..." Nico blinked. "Do you have any idea how much like a stalker you sounded there?"

"It sounded better in my head," Jason sighed in explanation.

"A lot of things do," Nico growled, looking away from him.

Jason sighed and reached forward, accidentally brushing against Nico's hand.

Nico's face promptly turned light pink and he pulled his hand away from Jason's

"Just let me show you that I'm sorry," Jason whispered, stepping towards the Ghost King.

Nico snorted. "What plan have you got up your sleeve this time, Superman?"

"No plan," Jason admitted. "Just an idea."

"No."

"Please?" Jason took another step closer to Nico. Their faces were only inches apart, and Nico began fidgeting.

"Just let it go, Jason," he sighed.

Jason smirked. "If you don't let me show you, I'll sing it."

"Sing what?" Nico raised a confused eyebrow.

Jason's smirk grew. "Let it go! Let it go! Can't-"

" _Alright!_ " Nico yelled, cutting him off. "Just don't sing that damn song!"

"I don't get why you hate it."

"Because the film is a ripoff of  _the Lion King_ ," Nico deadpanned. 

Jason tilted his head slightly. "You like  _the Lion King_?"

Nico's face turned red again. "Shut up and show me whatever you wanted to show me."

"I thought you didn't want me to?" Jason smirked slightly, trying to hide his sweaty palms although he was sure Nico could hear how hard his heart was beating anyway.

"I don't," Nico admitted bluntly. "But anything's better than listening to _Let it Go_." He raised an eyebrow and stood up as well. "So what's this 'big thing' you wanted to show me to try to prove that you're sorry?"  He asked in a bored tone.

Jason could tell that he still didn't believe that he really  _was_ sorry. He gently grasped Nico's chin between his index finger and his thumb, lifting it up slightly so that Nico was meeting his gaze. The son of Hades flinched slightly. Jason guessed it was something to do with his time in Tartarus.

"I'm sorry," he murmured, brushing his thumb against Nico's bottom lip.

Nico's cheeks turned bright red. "If that's all, it's not going to cut it, Grace."

"I meant for making you look into my eyes when you've been trying to avoid doing that since you came back from Tartarus," Jason explained.

Nico flinched at the name, making Jason's heart pang with sympathy that he knew the younger boy would never accept. "You noticed that?"

"I notice a lot of things," Jason admitted with a soft and yet dazzling smile.

Nico sighed.  To Jason's ears, it sounded less irritated and angry than before. "So what did you want to show me?"

"This." Jason leaned towards Nico and pressed his lips firmly against the younger boy's.


	9. Fear

Nico froze as he felt Jason's soft lips on his own. He couldn't respond or react. His eyes widened as he realised something. Jason Grace was kissing him. _Jason Grac_ e wa _s kissing_ him.

After a minute, Jason pulled away slightly to the point where their lips were still brushing against each other. Nico's face was flushed bright red. "Wh-what was that about?" Nico asked, trying to hide his stutter.

"Eh..." Jason's face was slightly red as well. "I was... just trying to show you I didn't mean what I said..."

"Well you could have done it some other way," Nico whisper-yelled.

Jason paused and shrugged. "Maybe. But I prefer my way." He grinned.

Nico felt his face heat up even more than before. He quickly turned away in a lame attempt to hide his blush.

"Nico-" Jason began, but Nico could only hear his own blood pounding in his ears.

He could however see Jason's lips moving in the shape of 'I'm sorry but I...'

Jason paused, his lips still slightly parted. Nico swallowed and looked up to meet his gaze again, trying his best not to look away. "You what?" Panic was surging through him.

"I..."

Before Jason could even say what he had been trying to say, Nico shadow travelled back to his room, his breath coming out in more shallow gasps than before.

He groaned and at down on the edge of his bed, letting his head fall into his hands.

Jason Grace just kissed him.

"Shit," he whispered. Why would Jason do that?

Hearing a knock on the door, Nico groaned and stood up. When he opened the door, he almost groaned again. "Hi, Percy."

"Hey Nico," Percy said with a lopsided grin. "Can I come in?"

"Sure; why not?" Nico mumbled, stepping away from the door. Percy walked in and when Nico closed the door, he turned to the son of Hades.

"So what's going on between you and Jason?"

Nico's heart skipped a beat. "What?"

"Ever since you came back from Salona, it's been really weird between you guys," Percy continued. "And then earlier on, Jason completely ignored you."

Nico searched his brain for some kind of lie that might pass off as the truth, but nothing came to mind.

Before he could either come up with a lie or end up telling Percy the truth, he heard his door open. "Nothing's going on between us, Percy," he heard Jason say.

Nico's heart froze. Percy looked away from Nico and glanced at Jason. They held each other's gazes for a minute before Percy shrugged. "If you say so, man."

He then left the room. Jason stayed.

"Jason, leave me alone," Nico hissed.

The expression on Jason's face was one of hurt. But Nico didn't care.

He had come to the only possible conclusion; Jason had just been messing with his feelings.

"Nico-"

"Get out!"

"Would you just let me talk?" Jason snapped. Nico glared at him for a moment before sighing and sitting down on his bed again, arms folded. "Thank you." Jason hesitated. "Look, I'm sorry that I kissed you but I-I couldn't think of another way to tell you."

"Tell me what?" Nico raised an eyebrow. "That you like messing with my feelings?"

"I wasn't messing with your feelings!" Jason protested. "Nico, I like you, okay?"

"Then why did you say that Piper saying she thought you liked me was ridiculous?" Nico growled.

"Because it is," Jason replied. Nico scowled. Then Jason re-worded his sentence. "It's ridiculous that I didn't realise that I liked you before now."

He took a few steps closer to Nico. "Nico," he began. Nico could see the raw fear and sincerity in his eyes. "I really do like you." Then he pressed his lips to Nico's once more.

Only this time, Nico didn't pull away.


	10. Courage

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: Mild sexual content

Jason felt nerves claw at his heart when he pressed his lips onto Nico's again. What if Nico pushed him away? Or summoned Jules-Albert? He may not sound very intimidating but Jason had seen him in action. 

You do not want to mess with a zombie chauffeur with a tennis racket.

Then he felt Nico return the kiss. A wave of relief and happiness hit him like a brick and he felt dizzy for a moment. He wrapped his arms around Nico's small frame and pulled him closer.

Nico tilted his head slightly as Jason deepened the kiss. Their lips moved in sync as they ended up lying back on the bed, Jason over Nico with one knee between the son of Hades' legs. Nico's hands found Jason's neck and Jason's ended up at Nico's hips as the latter traced Nico's lips with his tongue, requesting entrance.

Nico parted his lips and Jason dipped his tongue into his mouth, exploring the wet cavern. Nico twirled his tongue with Jason's, tangling his fingers in his blonde hair.

Jason ground his hips into Nico's, causing the younger boy to gasp and moan softly, applying a bit of unintentional pressure to the small of Jason's neck. Jason moaned lowly, grinding harder, although not enough to hurt him.

Nico traced spirals down Jason's spine and a shock of pleasure ran up the son of Jupiter's spine. Nico repeated the action, sliding his hands beneath Jason's shirt. Jason moaned at his touch and pulled his and Nico's shirts off.

Just as he was about to kiss Nico again, the door was pushed open. "Nico, are you o- Whoa!"

Jason and Nico jumped and looked up to see Hazel standing in the doorway, fanning her face. "Um... I'll just... be outside," she said in little more than a whisper before darting outside and closing the door.

Nico's cheeks were bright red as he grabbed his shirt and pulled it on again. "Well that was awkward," Jason muttered, picking up his own shirt.

Nico hummed in agreement and moved to go outside but Jason grabbed his wrist, pulling him back. "What is it?" Unlike the cold tone that he used to use around Jason, Nico's voice seemed softer this time.

"Uh..." Jason felt his face heat up. "Eh, well... would you go out with me?"

Nico blinked before chuckling. "Sure, Superman," he said with a smile. He leaned up and pecked Jason on the cheek before walking out to his sister.

Jason paused, grinning like an idiot, before following him out. Hazel glanced over at them, still seeming very flustered. "S-so, um... in there... you guys are...?"

"Yeah," Nico replied, looking a slight bit worried. "You don't mind do you?"

Hazel shook her head almost immediately. "No, of course not!" She assured him. "I just... wasn't expecting to see... that."

Jason almost laughed at how awktward she was at the mention of him and Nico making out. "Thanks, Haze," Nico said with a smile.

Hazel returned the smile and kissed his forehead. "There's nothing to thank me for," she told him. Then she turned to Jason, her gaze darkening. She grabbed his wrist and pulled him away from Nico. "I need to talk to you for a minute."

Jason followed, knowing that he wouldn't be able to resist if he tried. For someone who had been told not to fight for most of her life when she was in the forties, Hazel had a surprisingly strong grip.

Once they were out of earshot, Hazel glared at him. "Look, Nico's been through a lot and I don't want to see him get hurt anymore. I have no problem with you two dating but I want you to get this into your head; if you hurt him, I will make sure your death is very,  _very_ slow and very,  _very_ painful." She raised an eyebrow. "Got it?"

Jason swallowed and nodded. "Y-yeah, I got it."

"Good." She smiled and squeezed his shoulder a bit too tightly to be friendly, her lips pursed into a smile. "See you later."

She walked off, leaving Jason alone. Shaking his head, Jason returned to Nico, who was leaning against the windowsill of one of the many windows below deck.

His gaze was trained on the few stars that were in the sky, just as they had been last night. 

"Your sister is scary," Jason sighed, leaning against the wall next to him.

"So am I, but that doesn't seem to bother you."

Jason chuckled and shook his head. "Nah, you're like a death kitten. She's a death  _tiger_."

"I'm not a kitten," Nico retorted, scowling at Jason playfully.

Jason smirked. "Whatever you say..." He kissed Nico's nose. "Death kitten."

"Sparky."

"Death breath."

"Superman."

Not able to think of anything else to call Nico, Jason glanced outside again. "Which one are you looking at?"

"That one." Nico pointed at the constellation shaped like a warrior weilding a sword and a bow. 

"Orion..." Jason smiled slightly. "It represents sorrow and love."

"That's an odd mix," Nico chuckled.

Jason smiled, a response in his head. He kept it there.

_That's true, but so are we._

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed, please review.


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